Fan In Van

Playoff Predictions, Part II

With Round 2 of the NHL playoffs, it’s time once again to lay the hammer down on your bold predictions. As well, I have taken the liberty of updating the scores of who is ahead of who. The scoring system is as follows: One point for choosing the correct winner, and a bonus point for choosing the number of games.

In addition, to help those of you who are trying to catch up, I will reward another bonus point if you can guess who scores the game-winning goal in the series-ending game.

(1) Montreal vs. (6) Philadelphia: Both teams came off game seven series, so fatigue should not be an advantage for either team. On paper, I like Carey Price over Martin Biron, although Biron himself has been solid. This series is going to be closer then people think, as it looks like everyone matches up with an opponent very closely. Briere versus Kovalev, the Kostitsyns versus Umberger and Lupul, Markov versus Timonen. I think home-ice advantage will be crucial here, as both teams have loud buildings. Montreal in 6, Andrei Kostitsyn with the winner.

(2) Pittsburgh vs. (5) New York Rangers: This is going to be intriguing; will Sidney Crosby be able to do what Martin Brodeur could not, and keep Sean Avery’s mind games out of his head? There’s no doubt Avery will be deployed to take the Penguins’ skilled players like Hossa, Malkin and Crosby off their games. In addition, the goaltending matchup presents future vs. present: as Marc-Andre Fleury gains more experience and momentum, Henrik Lundqvist is also finding his stride. Penguins in 7, Jordan Staal with the winner.

(1) Detroit vs. (6) Colorado: Yeah, this is going to be a great series! The old rivalry renewed, and there are still some fellas from the old rivalry. Darren McCarty, Kirk Maltby and Kris Draper and Chris Osgood are still in Detroit, while Peter Forsberg, Adam Foote and Joe Sakic are still around. All that’s left is to bring back Claude Lemieux. These are two puck-possession teams who have a fair amount of fast legs on their team, so it’ll be a battle of which defense can play better. Lidstrom will, once again, make the difference. Detroit in 6, Brian Rafalski with the winner.

(2) San Jose vs. (5) Dallas: San Jose is riding the momentum of a thrilling Game 7 into the second round, and frankly, I think that spells the quick end for Dallas. Give respect to Marty Turco, however, who has played lights out for the second straight year. Dallas isn’t a very physical team and San Jose has the guys to do the job in Ryane Clowe, Joe Thornton, Mike Grier and Brian Campbell. Speaking of Campbell, how much do you want to bet he’s going to lay down an “Umberger-like” hit on Mike Ribeiro? San Jose in 5, Jonathan Cheechoo with the winner.

Current Standings:

Leon — 10 points

Andy — 9 points

Matt - 8 points

Raph — 7 points

Brandon — 7 points

Hora — 6 points

Shawn — 5 points

T-Mac — 5 points

Jack — 5 points

Kenny — 5 points